Colombard is a white French wine grape variety that is the offspring of Chenin blanc and Gouais blanc. Тhis makes the grape the sibling of the Armagnac Meslier-Saint-François and the nearly extinct Cognac grape Balzac blanc.
The bunches are medium, cylindrical, rarely winged, medium density. The grains are round, with a greenish hue. Relatively resistant to molds and rot, influenced by autumn frosts. It is used for making wine and brandy.
Old vine grapes are crushed by some northern Californian producers and made into a fruity white wine of interesting character in both dry and sweet versions. This grape is mainly grown in California to provide backbone, due to its natural acidic character, for white “jug wine” blends.
It is also widely grown in South Africa where it is known as Colombar and to a lesser extent in Australia and Israel.
